Contribution
Covid Impact on Immigration Detention
COVID-19 has exposed serious flaws in the social, political and economic systems of different countries. As states have rediscovered sovereign powers to close borders and reduce movement, a number of groups of people have been especially vulnerable. The International Detention Coalition (IDC) in collaboration with the Humanitarian and Development Research Initiative (HADRI) at Western Sydney University has produced this report to provide a platform for their members and partners to discuss their experiences, actions and perspectives as the pandemic unfolded across the globe. The contributions show the impact COVID-19 has had on refugee, undocumented migrant and stateless communities around the world. The response of different states to the issue of detention of migrants is placed side by side to provide a global perspective on the situation of migrants in detention, and those at risk of detention along with a comparison of the state and civil society responses to COVID-19.
The report has compiled the contributions from different parts of the world including Europe, Canada, India, US, India, Indonesia, Japan, Bangladesh, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Poland, among many other states.
M.A.P's Executive Director, Roshni Shanker writes on the impact on immigration detention practices in India, and on the possibilities of re-detention once the pandemic is under control.